Just in case you all have not realized, we’re a day ahead. It’s Monday and 10AM, while in NY it’s Sunday and 7PM. I have a world clock on my phone so I can keep track and not call someone in the middle of the night. We’re about 1/2 way along our trip down the coast and have driven about 1,693 km. Right now we’re in Brisbane for a couple of nights staying in a Holiday Inn Express and guess what – no cinnamon roles in Australia!! It’s a good thing my mother is not with us, right sibs?

Today’s Australia Day where they are celebrating their independence from Great Britain. When I asked a young woman what Australia day meant, she wasn’t sure. I have to guess that she did not grow up in the country.

Yesterday we stopped at the Australia Zoo, founded by Steve Irwin and still operated by his family. It’s a very nice, expansive zoo with large accomodations for the animals. I was able to pat a Koala’s bum and its fur is very dense and soft. There were lots of kangaroos running free in the zoo and people were feeding and petting them. The foundation for this zoo does a lot of animal conservation work in various places in the world. Steve’s idea for a zoo was founded on the concept that if people love animals, they will try to protect them. This does work for some people.

When we were in Hervey Bay, there was a violent thunderstorm in the middle of the night, waking both of us. At one point the thunder blast was so loud, I swear I jumped in the bed. It sounded like a bomb. The next morning we learned that there were 26,000 lightning strikes in 45 minutes. Wow!!

When we were in Hervey Bay, we took a day trip to Fraser or K’gari Island. It’s the world’s largest sand island. We were driven around on a 4WD bus along sandy, rutted roads (they only allow 4 wheel drive vehicles). We walked through a rainforest and swam in Lake Mckenzie (Boorangoora). The sands around the lake are composed of pure silica and the water is very soft. It’s a “perched” lake, which means it contains only rainwater, no groundwater, is not fed by streams and does not flow to the ocean. Supposedly, if you roll in the sand, you look ten years younger. That didn’t work!

Dingo’s run free on the island and when we were there one of them bit a person. You’re warned about approaching them and what to do if you encounter one. But we all know that there are people who do not think that rules apply to them.

There’s a few tricks to learn about ordering food in Australia. If one orders eggs and toast, the eggs are alway served on top of the toast. No such thing as easy over eggs. I have to order fried, runny or poached. Iced coffed often has vanilla ice cream in it, which I’m liking on a morning when it’s 90 degrees and humid and you’re eating in a cafe with no air conditioning. All the restaurants we’ve encountered do not have a wait person to take your order. You place it via a QR code at your table or at the counter. It’s then delivered to your table. No need for tipping. When you’re in a brewpub and want a flight it’s called a paddle.

See you back here in a couple of days.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hervey_Bay
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_McKenzie
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8pdtyxZXmfuL5L6f8
https://australiazoo.com.au/